HB4773 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB098 16799 KTG 51868 b

98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB4773

Introduced 2/7/2014, by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
5 ILCS 120/1.02	from Ch. 102, par. 41.02
5 ILCS 140/2	from Ch. 116, par. 202

Creates the Department of Children and Family Services' Statewide Youth Advisory Board Act. Requires the Department of Children and Family Services to convene and maintain a Statewide Youth Advisory Board and regional youth advisory boards. Provides that each regional youth advisory board shall work with the Department or its designee to determine how to best provide services to current and former youth in foster care living within each of the regions; and that the Statewide Youth Advisory Board shall advise the Department and the General Assembly with respect to all matters involving or affecting current and former youth in foster care. Sets forth the responsibilities of the Statewide Youth Advisory Board. Contains provisions concerning membership, meetings, operations, and reporting requirements. Provides that meetings of the Statewide Youth Advisory Board and the regional youth advisory boards shall be closed to the public and shall not be subject to the Open Meetings Act. Provides that records and information provided to and maintained by the Statewide Youth Advisory Board and the regional youth advisory boards shall be confidential and not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Amends the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act to exclude the Statewide Youth Advisory Board and the regional youth advisory boards from the definition of "public body".

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning State government.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth Advisory Board Act.

Section 5. Statewide Youth Advisory Board; regional youth advisory boards. The Department of Children and Family Services shall convene and maintain a Statewide Youth Advisory Board and regional youth advisory boards. Each regional youth advisory board shall work with the Department or its designee to determine how to best provide services to current and former youth in foster care living within each of the regions. The Statewide Youth Advisory Board shall advise the Department and the General Assembly with respect to all matters involving or affecting current and former youth in foster care. Responsibilities of the Statewide Youth Advisory Board shall include:

(1) providing the Department and the General Assembly with the perspective of youth under the care of the Department;

(2) identifying, analyzing, and recommending solutions to any issues concerning adoption and guardianship and youth in foster care;

(3) reviewing and advising the Department on proposed or pending legislation, primarily as it concerns current and former youth in foster care; and

(4) reviewing and making recommendations on Department foster care and child welfare service delivery policies, guidelines, procedures, and training.

Section 10. Membership.

(a) The Statewide Youth Advisory Board shall consist of executive regional board members elected to represent the regional youth advisory boards.

(b) The Statewide Youth Advisory Board and each regional youth advisory board shall be composed of youth 14 to 21 years of age who are former or current youth in foster care appointed by the Department of Children and Family Services or its designee.

Section 15. Meetings.

(a) Regular meetings of the regional youth advisory boards shall be held monthly.

(b) Regular meetings of the Statewide Youth Advisory Board shall be held at least 5 times per year.

(c) The Director of the Department or his or her designee shall meet with the Statewide Youth Advisory Board at least quarterly in order to discuss the issues and concerns of youth in foster care.

(d) All meetings shall take place at locations, dates, and times determined by the Department or its designee in accordance with the bylaws for the Statewide Youth Advisory Board and the regional youth advisory boards.

Section 20. Operations. The Department or its designee shall manage each board, facilitate meetings, and develop further necessary procedures, including, but not limited to, bylaws for the Statewide Youth Advisory Board and the regional youth advisory boards. The Department shall provide funding necessary to maintain the operations of each board.

Section 25. Reporting. The Statewide Youth Advisory Board shall report annually to the General Assembly on issues concerning adoption and guardianship and youth in foster care, and make recommendations regarding legislation, policies, guidelines, procedures, and training.

Section 30. Public access to information.

(a) Meetings of the Statewide Youth Advisory Board and each regional youth advisory board shall be closed to the public. Meetings of the Statewide Youth Advisory Board and each regional youth advisory board shall not be subject to the Open Meetings Act.

(b) Records and information provided to and maintained by the Statewide Youth Advisory Board and each regional youth advisory board shall be confidential and not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

Section 35. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing Section 1.02 as follows:

(5 ILCS 120/1.02) (from Ch. 102, par. 41.02)

Sec. 1.02. For the purposes of this Act:

"Meeting" means any gathering, whether in person or by video or audio conference, telephone call, electronic means (such as, without limitation, electronic mail, electronic chat, and instant messaging), or other means of contemporaneous interactive communication, of a majority of a quorum of the members of a public body held for the purpose of discussing public business or, for a 5-member public body, a quorum of the members of a public body held for the purpose of discussing public business.

Accordingly, for a 5-member public body, 3 members of the body constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of 3 members is necessary to adopt any motion, resolution, or ordinance, unless a greater number is otherwise required.

"Public body" includes all legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies of the State, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees or commissions of this State, and any subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not limited to committees and subcommittees which are supported in whole or in part by tax revenue, or which expend tax revenue, except the General Assembly and committees or commissions thereof. "Public body" includes tourism boards and convention or civic center boards located in counties that are contiguous to the Mississippi River with populations of more than 250,000 but less than 300,000. "Public body" includes the Health Facilities and Services Review Board. "Public body" does not include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child Death Review Team Act, an ethics commission acting under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, a regional youth advisory board or the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth Advisory Board Act, or the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal.

(Source: P.A. 96-31, eff. 6-30-09; 97-1129, eff. 8-28-12.)

Section 40. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by changing Section 2 as follows:

(5 ILCS 140/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 202)

Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:

(a) "Public body" means all legislative, executive, administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not limited to committees and subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created under Article 1E of the School Code. "Public body" does not include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child Death Review Team Act, or a regional youth advisory board or the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth Advisory Board Act.

(b) "Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, organization or association, acting individually or as a group.

(c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms, writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps, photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic data processing records, electronic communications, recorded information and all other documentary materials pertaining to the transaction of public business, regardless of physical form or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or having been or being used by, received by, in the possession of, or under the control of any public body.

(c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers, including a person's social security number, driver's license number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers, personal financial information, passwords or other access codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, and personal email addresses. Private information also includes home address and personal license plates, except as otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility of attribution to any person.

(c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a public record or records, or information derived from public records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate information concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public research or education.

(d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and available to the public body.

(e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor, chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent, manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary executive and administrative authority for the public body, or such person's duly authorized designee.

(f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic format, a news service whether in print or electronic format, a radio station, a television station, a television network, a community antenna television service, or a person or corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion picture news for public showing.

(g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body (i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15 requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered in calculating the number of requests made in the time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public research or education.

For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other means available to the public body and that identifies the particular public record the requester seeks. One request may identify multiple records to be inspected or copied.

(Source: P.A. 96-261, eff. 1-1-10; 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 97-579, eff. 8-26-11.)